


Crystal Cavern Chaos

by Honey_Butterscotch



Series: Zuko Has No Clue What He's Doing [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Appa is a soft bison, Badass Katara (Avatar), Big soft bison, Crazy Azula (Avatar), Gen, I do that, I swear a lot im sorry, I will not write it pls, Iroh (Avatar) is a Good Uncle, Katara and Toph are ready to adopt Zuko, Katara immediately puts together the abuse puzzle, Light references, Lots of dialogue, Minor Aang/Katara, Momo is a cute lemur, No zutara, Not Canon Compliant, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Pls leave me alone i dont like zutara, Poor Life Choices, References to Abuse, She doesnt like it, Swearing, Toph Beifong and Zuko are Siblings, Toph Being Awesome, Zuko doesnt know what hes doing, Zuko is a warm firebender, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, references to murder
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-08-24
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:55:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26079094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Honey_Butterscotch/pseuds/Honey_Butterscotch
Summary: Zuko keeps making a series of questionable choices. At this point, he's really just rolling with it.
Relationships: Aang & Katara (Avatar), Aang & Momo (Avatar), Aang & The Gaang (Avatar), Aang & Zuko (Avatar), Appa & The Gaang (Avatar), Appa & Zuko (Avatar), Katara & Zuko (Avatar), Momo & Zuko (Avatar), Sokka & Zuko (Avatar), Toph Beifong & Katara, Toph Beifong & Sokka, Toph Beifong & Zuko
Series: Zuko Has No Clue What He's Doing [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1893307
Comments: 41
Kudos: 612





	Crystal Cavern Chaos

Azula's eyes were the dim gold of the blue dragon that had haunted his fever dreams, and her voice was the cold silk it had been since she was eleven. _'Azula always lies,'_ was offered up by the warm, wise voice that he had just begun to stop ignoring. Her fingers were curled like claws and her offer of home was tempting. Home, honor, pride, _love._ Except now, it feels like all of that was connected to Uncle, the tea shop, the recent inner peace he had settled himself with after days of aching and burning. He thought of the Avatar's question, asked so genuinely in that forest. 

_"Do you think we could have been friends?'_

The red dragon with a voice like warm ginseng tea bit the lightning blue dragon. Azula's mask (where did her face go, when had it gone?) crumpled like an old scroll. "Just as treacherous as the fat fool, aren't you Zuzu? I'll take great pleasure in breaking every bone in your legs and dragging you back home to let father finish you off. Or maybe he'll let me end what he began and allow me to reduce you to a burnt little husk? Either way, I will enjoy it." He swallowed down the lump in his throat and ignored the burning in his heart and eyes. The water bender was more formidable than he had remembered, more deadly. She almost reminded him of Azula, in her power and deadliness. The Dai Li were skilled and Zuko missed the weight of his dao on his back, waiting for him to take the handles. He watched the Avatar glow, and Azula crouch into that deadly position. He could smell the lightning before he heard it and saw it and jumped. He felt it course through his veins and stomach and he thought about releasing this cold fire back on to Azula. The lightning exploded in front of her feet and his eyes. His sister's dim ember eyes bled through the dust, pinpricks of pure rage. The Avatar had picked himself up off the ground and was yanking on his hand, the water bender beside him in an instant. "Uncle-!" He could see his uncle fighting his way to a seperate exit, looking more like the fierce general he once was than he had since Lu Ten died. "Your uncle will be ok! We have to go!" He let himself be led away and all he could think was ' _What the fuck did I just do?'_

 _"_ Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck fuck. I am literally dead."

"Um, why?"

"I can never, ever go back to the Fire Nation and now my father is going to be dead set on killing me along with you."

"Um, _why_?"

"So many reasons now. Including the fact that I shot lightning at Azula."

A bubble of laughter popped in his throat and Zuko laughed into his hands while the tears dripped on his sleeves. Something poked his wrist. The lemur chittered and nibbled lightly on his thumb, and it was sort of comforting, somehow. But Agni above, this lemur was one of the cutest creatures he had ever seen. "So, uh, what happened to the short hair?" The water tribe boy poked his head a few times. "I mean, I knew it's been some time and I have been meaning to ask where that ugly ponytail went. But, it hasn't been enough time for your hair to get like this and you have a serious case of babyface, man. You look my age." The lemur settled himself on Zuko's head, curled up. "Well, I probably am your age. I'm barely sixteen." The silence was sudden and deafening. "Oh shit, I'm barely sixteen and I just became a fugitive of my own country and a murder target of my own father." The black haired girl snorted. "Well, if it helps, my parents hired some people to kidnap me so I could go back to their house and I'm twelve." Her hands were looped around the sky bison's saddle and Zuko let his hand brush the animal's thick fur. He had wanted to do this since Lake Laogai. "That's kind of messed up?" He said it more like a question than anything and the girl let go of her hold on the saddle to scooch over to Zuko. He was not expecting the solid, bruising punch to his arm. "You get it. I'm Toph and I have decided we are keeping you." The water tribe boy spluttered and Toph dragged her hand down his face. "Shhhh! I said we're keeping him."

"Honestly, I might as well commit more treason because I'm going to die anyways."

"That's the spirit! Also, you are warm, like super warm."

"Thanks?"

"Katara, Aang, one of you tell Toph we are not keeping Prince Jerkbender!"

"I'm pretty sure I'm not a prince anymore?"

"Uh, Sokka?"

"Aang, we are not keeping him. If you don't get to keep a rabbit cat, you don't get to keep a whole human."

"Sokka, I'm not going to send Zuko back."

"Katara, have you lost your mind?"

"His sister implied some stuff and I would never send someone back to the Fire Lord if it could be avoided."

"Yeah, I kinda don't want to go back? Is that ok? I'm going to die but that doesn't mean I want to die by next week or something."

The arguement lasted about fifty minutes and in the end, Zuko ended up staying in a vote of four vs 1. "Just so you guys know, I have absolutely no clue what I'm doing and I never have."


End file.
